Alcaraz regrets letting Djokovic off the hook

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Carlos Alcaraz is having a bit of a laugh at himself for handing Novak Djokovic a weak spot.

The dominant Serb took a mile to shatter Alcaraz's dream of becoming the youngest bloke in tennis history to complete a career grand slam.

As Djokovic goes after a record 25th major singles win in the semis against Zverev on Friday, Alcaraz is headed back to Spain, wondering what could've been.

Down under a set to love on Tuesday night's quarter-final, the 21-year-old feels ripped off for almost letting Djokovic get back in the contest after the 10-time champion got his left thigh strapped during a medical timeout before the second set.

"I actually felt like I was in the box seat, and I let him get back into it again. I'll say that was the biggest error of my game," Alcaraz said after his 4-6 6-4 6-3 6-4 loss.

I could see he was struggling to get momentum in the second set. I needed to push him a bit harder to get the most out of him, but I couldn't quite find that edge.

After that, I reckon he began to feel better and was playing at a really good level. That was my major stuff-up.

But look, when Novak's playing at that top level, it's a huge ask. I reckon I did get my chances. The match was a real nail-biter. I reckon most of the tight points actually went his way.

Alcaraz isn't the first bloke to get caught out thinkin' Djokovic was more crook than he really was.

But the reigning Open champion who's won in Paris as well as London may be the first to admit as much.

It's about when you see someone's struggling a bit physically, it's like you're not even on the same level.

Geez, it's gonna be a doddle, but at the same time you're thinkin', 'Alright, I don't wanna stuff it'.

Fair dinkum, you're not whacking the ball in the same way you were before, mate.

Despite his departure, Alcaraz said he was proud of his effort in matching his best run at Melbourne Park.

"I'm 21 years old, so from these matches, I'm getting heaps of experience on how to handle all the basics," he said.

I'm not going to hide. I've done some top-notch things in tennis already, but playing against one of the all-time greats of our sport, these sorts of matches will really help me in the long run to get even better.

Geez, I'm just chuffed to be able to be a part of this experience. So I'm heading out of Aussie with my head held high.